Friday, 31 March 2017

I was pleased to see US President Donald Trump defeated in his bid to replace President Obama’s Affordable Care Act with some half-baked scheme of his own. Millions more Americans would have been denied proper health care if he had succeeded.

Mr. Trump has not managed to get his travel ban through either – and I hope in due course the authorities will tell him where he can shove his idea for a proposed wall across the Mexican border.There is growing support for the idea that Michelle Obama should stand against him at the next Presidential Election in 2020.--BREXOMIME - THE STORY CONTINUES

Picture from The Guardian newspaper

On Wednesday this week Prime Minister Theresa May gave the European Union formal notice of the not-very-United Kingdom's decision to leave.According to United Nations statistics published in December 2016, the EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world. If it is damaged by UK withdrawal, the principal beneficiary would be the second largest economy in the world - the US - with whom we have a 'special relationship'.Oh, I see.

The EU refuses to settle a deal on its future relationship with UK until AFTER terms & conditions of
leaving are agreed. So eventually Mrs. May will have to ask MPs to approve the agreement-about-leaving without being able to tell them exactly what happens next.

New readers please note that this blog has been selected for preservation by National Library of Wales for use by researchers in the future, so do get in touch if you can offer photos or info relating to Rhyl. The material does not have to be old to be interesting.Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

Friday, 24 March 2017

Rhyl Life will not be covering in depth the council elections that take place soon, but here are a few tips:1. This time round, voting Conservative would not be a good idea. It might encourage Tory Brextremists in Westminster who would drag us out of the EU at any cost regardless of damage to
Wales.

2. On a local level, beware of Rhyl Labour Party's poor record in keeping the town up to standard and their tendency to claim credit for big schemes that are little or nothing to do with them.3. Consider voting for Plaid Cymru - The Party Of Wales even if you have never done so before. Plaid is the ONLY political party based entirely in Wales and it works on behalf of everybody who lives here.4. In the absence of Plaid see if you can find a Lib Dem or Independent candidate worthy of your support.POLLING DAY IS THURSDAY 4th MAY 2017----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Watching TV coverage of the Spring Conference of Scottish National Party I was moved by the passion and positivism of speeches by Nicola Sturgeon (leader) and others.

Good luck to the Scottish National Party in their bid to gain a second referendum on Independence; they should keep at it until they get the result they want.Plaid Cymru's leader Leanne Wood has a vision of Britain becoming four independent countries in loose alliance instead of the present UK in which England can and does force its will on the rest of us.--

Ten days ago I posted a couple of photos taken this year.Question 1) Where in Rhyl would you find the above scene?Answer: Under the H-Bridge.Behind Rhyl Tyre & Battery Centre, 117 Marsh Road. Photo by Dave Williams. Thanks, Dave!--Question 2) Re: the photo below, where was the photographer standing?Answer: On the H-Bridge.

Looking over the wall and across Arriva Bus Depot towards a row of derelict
business units at rear of
Terence Avenue.

The photographer was Yours Truly standing on tiptoe.

Colin Jones / email: rhyl.colin.jones@live.co.uk

--

SUN 2nd JUL 2017 UPDATE: Sometimes I get asked, "How old is the H-Bridge" so here are official opening dates of the four existing vehicle bridges in Rhyl.

This being Red Nose Day, let’s salute early Rhyl entertainers in whose acts comedy played a big part. These images are all new to this blog:

The above is from the 1880s. Tom Wood's Merry Men was the first troupe at our council-owned 'minstrel pitch' on the sands. Minstrel shows were a combination of music & comedy. Tom Wood was a professional comedian who died aged 27.

Merry had given way to Merrie by the time E.H. Williams & his Merrie Men took over from Tom Wood at the pitch. Mr. Williams was a canny self-publicist well known in Rhyl. Edward Henry Street is thought to be named after him (because we already had a Williams Street).

A few routines by E.H. & his M.M. who are shown above on the minstrel pitch, were captured by Rhyl film maker Arthur Cheetham. These included the 1899 knockabout sketch illustrated below. The still is from the book 'Wales And Cinema' by David Berry:

Click on any picture to see a bigger version.

Above is a card postmarked 1907 - Adeler & Sutton's Pierrots at a kiosk on the pier. Halfway up the ladder is Arthur Sutcliffe. The lady at the foot of the ladder is no lady, it's female impersonator Bert Erroll.

Below is a 1907 photo of Adeler & Sutton's Gay River Company posing opposite East Parade near sandhills. Front centre is Frank Dunlop who has been described by Bill Ellis as the company's leading man, and on your right of him is - yes - Bert Erroll again.

Finally an item from Easter 1912 or '13: Jolly Boys visiting the ornamental fountain opposite West Parade to render the song 'By The Fountain' which was generally popular at the time.
Later the name Jolly Boys was used in 1920s by Billy Churchill's resident troupe at the Coliseum on the prom. Perhaps it was a generic term for this kind of daftness.

[Incidentally, the song 'By The Fountain' had words by F.E. Weatherly and music by Stephen Adams who was a Liverpool-born composer of mainly religious songs. Stephen Adams and his brother James have both been suspected of being Jack the Ripper - and that's no joke.]

--FRI 21st APR 2017 UPDATE: Speaking of Jolly Boys, what do you make of this Jolly Boys Football Club card postmarked 1911?

Thursday, 16 March 2017

If scaffolding is your delight, take a trip to Queen Street,
Rhyl, where the northeast side between The George Hotel and the former Savoy
building is being renovated. The project is being carried out by Denbighshire
council with funding supplied by Welsh Government (WG had owned most of the
properties for years and done nothing useful with them).

The proposed new use is mainly retail and partly residential.

Denbighshire is in bed with Neptune Developments who are partners in the schemes involving our former Sun Centre and forthcoming
Waterpark. In the council’s own words:

“Denbighshire has
recently signed Heads of Terms with Neptune Developments for a comprehensive
redevelopment of the Rhyl Waterfront area for which the Queens Market site
(including the Queen Street premises) is included within the “extended project
area”. The Council is being actively encouraged to acquire freehold
properties within this extended project area to both control and influence
regeneration.”

So the authorities have their beady eye on the Queen Street to High Street block, north of Sussex Street. Pity they did not act soon enough to acquire Queens Market for demolition and redevelopment as a department store. We might have been
able to offer Marks and Sparks new accommodation instead of having to let them
go to Prestatyn.

Oh well, never mind. Regeneration is the name of the game, not Regret. The scheme in progress is good news for Queen Street and a step forward for the town centre.

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Rhyl in the 1930s played host to many stars but few as internationally famous as American bass baritone singer Paul Robeson whose one-off performance at the Pavilion in 1934 was a very big event.

The late Jack Griffiths, ex-councillor and author of a history of the Parish of Rhyl and the Parish Church, was a boy usher at the theatre that night. Jack told me, "It was sensational. I've never seen so many people on Rhyl promenade. Huge crowds waited just to catch sight of him."

After his appearance in Rhyl, Paul Robeson made the films 'Sanders Of The River' (1935) and 'Showboat' (1936). Hear him sing his famous song Ol' Man River from 'Showboat' on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyJtGNk9iEU

He returned to Wales to make the 'The Proud Valley' (1940) in which he played a coal miner – his favourite film:

Last week I spent a pleasant afternoon in Caernarfon – my first visit in half a century – and walked round the town centre and castle and visited the offices of Gwynedd County Council. During all that time I heard only Welsh spoken except in response to my questions.

Afterwards in a cosy café I reflected on what Y Rhyl might be like today if the railway had never arrived and how – this month – Rhyl councillors saw fit to mark St. David's Day by standing outside the railway station singing songs in English.

There are enough incongruities and things wrong in Rhyl to fill a book. Still and all, this is not the worst town in the world nor, as recent publicity announced, the worst place to live in Wales. People who think it is should take a trip to scruffbag Bangor.

When people talk in terms of making a country great again, I am never sure to what historical period they are referring.

In the case of US President Donald Trump does he mean the period when North American whites were killing Indians and stealing their land, or killing Mexicans and stealing their land, or using captive Africans as slave labour, or what?

What is greatness?

There are disturbing parallels between the rise of Donald Trump in the 21st century and the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 20th. They both used populist rabble-rousing speeches to get into power; both used unpopular religions as scapegoats (Jews in the case of Hitler, Moslems in the case of Trump) and both attacked the freedom of the press.

They both thought that the path to glory lay in building up a huge arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. In Hitler’s case the idea backfired and destroyed him and - temporarily - his country. In Trump’s case we have to wait and see.

It is good for British people to be on friendly terms with American people but the thought of a 'special relationship' between the UK Government and this particular President makes my blood run cold.

Recently when passing Lyons Robin Hood Camp I mean Holiday Park on Rhyl Coast Road I was reminded of what a big spread it has become.

Click on any image to see a bigger version.
The pix below from earlier eras capture a couple of stages in development.

1930s - Lyons Camp

1950s - Lyons Camp

For present day details of this and other Lyons Holiday Parks (including Winkups in Towyn near Abergele, and Lido Beach Prestatyn) see web:http://www.lyonsholidayparks.co.uk/caravan-parks-north-wales--MON 19th JUN 2017 UPDATE: These two cards of Lyons Holiday Camp were published by Raphael Tuck and are dated 1935. Already comparatively cheap camping holidays were the seeds of destruction of Rhyl's boarding houses!